I have an appointment coming up for a Colostomy. Id like to hear peoples experiences with the Colostomy & I have a few questions that I have been worrying about. I have researched a lot but I think people that have been threw it offer the best advice. Thanks a Million. Your views are appreciated as im quiet nervous of the change to be honest.
Q. How many times a day would the bag need emptying?
Q. What complications can arise with a colostomy, eg skincare etc?
Q. If I had an overfull bowl now I might get AD would the bag allow me to empty more regular & remove the chances of AD?
Q. If I had a build up of gas how does it escape?
Q. Is there any restrictions on foods or drinks?
Q. Can a Colostomy cause AD with any complications?
They should have sent you the instructions about food limitations already, Ted. I am having my first and only in 2 days. There are restrictions beginning 5 days prior, then no food and only clear, light colored liquids the day before. I do not use a bag but my bowel control is minimal. I expect to be miserable for 24 hours. Call your doc's office about the instructions. they should also offer guidance on the other questions although your peers here will know more. Expect to empty the bag often. I also anticipate significant skin irritation to the anus. No wonder they use anesthetic! I will let you know come Saturday how it went.
I step in the water, but the water has moved on...
Hey Tetra hope all goes well for you. I have my pre op appointment next week so il have my questions ready. But as you say our peers on here are the best source of information having went through it. I think it just nerves cause im used the way the bowl care has been done with suppositories. hopefully the colostomy will make things easier on the body & mind. Best of Luck Saturday. Thanks for help Tetra
Ted, I'm hope and quite happy to have that behind me. Like you, my major problem was anticipation that the SCI would make this difficult. The diet restrictions are heavy for 5 days prior to the procedure. No solid food the day before. Drinking the prep solution was awful and difficult. 1 1/2 quarts of liquid in an hour is not so easy to down. Most of what I passed was watery and it lasted up to 4 hours before the procedure. I drank my second dose 10 jours before the procedure, so as you can surmise, the watery stuff just kept flowing. This meant not much sleep the night before.
My fear beforehand was that neuropathy symptoms I usually experience when hungry would be dreadful. They were there, but tedious and unhappy rather than dreadful. My legs felt like ice and I was weak and unmotivated. My thoughts were foggy. The actual procedure was comfortable given the mild anesthetic used, and people were lovely.
I learned a few new things from the report, which I can now act to minimize any negative impact. 5 polyps was removed, I still have a small internal hemorrhoid/s. Now that I know that (they have been without symptoms for many years), I will give them regular treatments with Witch Hazel. That was completely effective when I was bed-bound and they hurt. I just soaked a small piece of paper towel in Witch Hazel then left it in my rectum after my bowel program.
Somewhat anti-climactic. Let me know how the process goes for you.
Do you have such limited hand function that changing or emptying your own bag is difficult to impossible? If so, work very hard to have someone there to help you the day before, starting at your first dose, and staying with you through the night. That would drain off the anxiety of it.
There is quiet a bit in preparation so with the solution & diet restrictions. Im glad the procedure was comfortable for you, fingers crossed mine will be too. I have limited dexterity but that said I have managed to figure out a lot of ways around things & how to grip things, for example I change my Catheter myself at home.
The fact the colostomy will remove the need for 4 different nurses each week doing the bowl care, between stimulations & the risk of compaction & AD. Im hopeful the colostomy will give me more regular emptying as my bowl care programme was every 2 days. I also worried from day to day how the bowl care would go with a different person doing different stimulations. for example I had one nurse go straight finger in & out which compacted the bowl resulting in AD & severe sweating. Not nice.
I was also told that when the bowl is full or over full that it wraps around the bladder like a blood pressure monitor & squeezes on the bladder thus restricting the capacity of the bladder leading to more complications. So all said I think this is the best option with the most consistency & will put my bowl care in my hands not my nurses.
Hope your feeling good & Thanks a Million for the advice, very much appreciated.
There is quiet a bit in preparation so with the solution & diet restrictions. Im glad the procedure was comfortable for you, fingers crossed mine will be too. I have limited dexterity but that said I have managed to figure out a lot of ways around things & how to grip things, for example I change my Catheter myself at home.
The fact the colostomy will remove the need for 4 different nurses each week doing the bowl care, between stimulations & the risk of compaction & AD. Im hopeful the colostomy will give me more regular emptying as my bowl care programme was every 2 days. I also worried from day to day how the bowl care would go with a different person doing different stimulations. for example I had one nurse go straight finger in & out which compacted the bowl resulting in AD & severe sweating. Not nice.
I was also told that when the bowl is full or over full that it wraps around the bladder like a blood pressure monitor & squeezes on the bladder thus restricting the capacity of the bladder leading to more complications. So all said I think this is the best option with the most consistency & will put my bowl care in my hands not my nurses.
Hope your feeling good & Thanks a Million for the advice, very much appreciated.
I have read scores of praises from SCIs for their colostomies over the years. I'm confident your life will be better! As to comfort during the colonoscopy, they used a very mild anesthetic that left me conscious, if not functional. I t was an IV combination of fentanyl and something else. Lovely stuff so I actually felt energetic and impatient to get dressed once they wheeled me back to a non-treatment space. A bed with a reasonably soft mattress was the platform, so no skin worries.
That's very reassuring to hear Tetra, as I have been trying to gather as much information as possible from people who have been there bought the t shirt! Ya I have a list of my care routine at home to be carried out in hospital as it has severed me well over the years. I think in hospitals they oh ya we are the pros, but we are the ones living it so we know best what mattress etc that we need. Again Thanks for the reassurance, it helps a lot. Take Care & il fill you in on how I get on.
That's very reassuring to hear Tetra, as I have been trying to gather as much information as possible from people who have been there bought the t shirt! Ya I have a list of my care routine at home to be carried out in hospital as it has severed me well over the years. I think in hospitals they oh ya we are the pros, but we are the ones living it so we know best what mattress etc that we need. Again Thanks for the reassurance, it helps a lot. Take Care & il fill you in on how I get on.
I saw a news article yesterday stating anesthesia is less effective (by a lot) with regular marijuana users. I use MJ for sleep so it's possible my experience of being aware during the procedure is unusual. It's impossible to know, of course, but I appreciated knowing what was going on. I think you are smart to investigate as much as you can. being on a mattress sees critical for us, although the procedure itself is quite short, maybe 20-25 minutes.
I am finding it is taking many days to completely rehydrate. It's not so much a matter of drinking enough, but that it takes time for all the cells to reabsorb their natural load.
Post by electricguy on Apr 20, 2019 1:26:31 GMT -8
ted303 ,tetra , Sorry, I have not been on the site very much do you other issues I have been having. My experiences and insights on this issue, by the sounds of it by reading the thread, maybe somewhat of hindsight.
Also, the level and extent of my SCI sound to be more extreme. I can only move my head a little, with the tracheotomy, requiring that I have total and complete 24/7 care. From the time of my injury until I had the colostomy, I basically had no bowel program, approximately six years. Toward the end of that time, my bowel movements were explosive diarrhea, requiring quite the extensive cleanup of myself and the surrounding area. Due to the buildup of fecal matter and gas.
I wish I would've found out about the option of having a colostomy, much, much, sooner. As far as having the procedure done, it was during one of my many hospital stays, for a UTI. Also, it required that I be put back on the ventilator, which I very, very, reluctantly, agreed to. Afterward, with the exception of being on the ventilator longer than I would've liked, and a few days of increased overall pain. I am over 100% glad that I had it done. I personally did not have any irritation or skin breakdown around the stoma or ostomy bag site. I did, however, end up with pressure sores, due to not being on an air mattress and turned properly. After returning to the facility in which I stay, being returned to my air mattress, turned properly, and wound-care healing my pressure sores, my overall situation was greatly improved.
My bowel movement kind of depend on what and how much I have eaten. As far as emptying the ostomy bag it varies in relationship to the output. With the buildup of gas in the bag, it just needs to be released accordingly. My schedule as far as when the bag is supposed to be changed, has not been consistent. Due to this staff not being consistent, with proper upkeep. Nonetheless, it has been a. Improvement to everyone considered (staff and myself).
tetra, electricguy, Thanks Electricguy for sharing your story very honest. Glad having the colostomy done has improved things for you. I have had my pre op appointment & have told them order the same make & model mattress that I use at home, so hopefully that goes ok. As you say maybe the emptying times may vary for person to person & diet. When the bag fills of gas will it not take s*** putting iot bluntly
Also they spoke to me about a prep solution in the days before the op to empty the bowl, im a little concerned I will arrive at the hospital & the bowl goes. Maybe just my nerve before I get the op done too & its going to be a change of what im used to, but hopefully an improvement & a little more independence.
Post by electricguy on Apr 22, 2019 6:49:18 GMT -8
ted303 , You're welcome. As I see it, that's with the site is for. If we do not share our experiences honestly, what is the point?
My situation, I believe is a little bit different. I honestly think that if you follow the advice and recommendations for follow-up, after the procedure, and prior to for that matter, you will find your independence greatly improved. Good luck with getting the proper mattress, reducing the odds of getting pressure sores.
I think everyone, AB or us, fears the bowel will not be fully emptied at time of procedure, yet for me, even with neurogenic bowel, there was no problem. that said, I did program in about 4 extra hours from the time of my last dose until actual procedure. It mattered as I loosed some more liquid in those last hours. Tetra predicts you will do 'swimmingly'.
tetra,electricguy, Hey guys had my procedure done was only in hospital for 2 days & I was out on the third day. I can change the bag myself so im happy with that part. One thing im finding it tricky to release any wind from the bag, there is a lot of folds in the exit of the bag not easy with limited dexterity.
How did u guy manage to release the wind from the bag? Also did yer stoma change colour much in the early days post op? My stoma nurse mentioned the stoma could go black & even rot I was shocked to here that bit.
Overall though im feeling good have 9km done in the 9days since my op & no ill effects. Don't miss the suppositories, stimulations, or the time it takes doing bowl care that way. Also I find im more hungry in the morning which is great cause im like a whip!!
I want to thank you for your views on here, at times means more from my peers than docs. So a huge Thanks
Post by electricguy on May 11, 2019 2:30:05 GMT -8
ted303, Since I live in a facility and it would be impossible for me to take care of things myself, I still have to rely on my caregivers. I continually seem to slip through the cracks. I was never seen by a stoma nurse. The plastic retaining clamp, which should have been taken out, wasn't. It finally came out on its own, recently. It is impossible for me to see my stoma, without my caregivers positioning a mirror so that I could see it.
As far as the excess gas. You may need to ask for assistance if it does not get easier for you with practice. Although, a method that I have heard that others use, is to take a pin and put three holes near the top. That is, of course, if you don't mind occasionally, smelling the gas. There are also ostomy bags that have a valve and a charcoal filter, I believe, I have not actually researched that myself because I am kind of at the mercy of the social facility.
Which, by the way, I am going to be moving to a new one today. I hope that we both are successful in our new leg of our journey.